Last we heard, a remake of The Birds was in “active development” over at Michael Bay’s production company. Well today we have a slight update we discovered in the cliff-notes of a Variety article. Universal is aiming to begin shooting the remake by the end of the year.
I wonder if the new version will be a remade of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic or a total restart based on the Daphne Du Maurier short story which inspired the film. Hitchcock’s film is definitely due for an update, especially considering the advances in special effects (CG..etc). It’s probably a bad sign that Boogeyman scribes Juliet Snowden and Stiles White were attached to the screenplay adaptation. And isn’t rumored star Naomi Watts having a baby? Looks like Universal may be going in another direction.
If the film does get started before year’s end, It’s quite possible that we could see the film at earliest Summer 2008 (although I’d expect a release late 2008/early 2009).
April 9th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
With Bay involved, his vision is going to be grandiose robotic birds with some kind of mutation from a nearby power plant. I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt to see what he can do in the character development department. His track record isn’t that great when it comes to that. Unless he has a charismatic star. I hear him picking up the phone to speed dial Will Smith.
June 11th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Cool. What’s next for Bay? Alien vs. Predator 3?
December 17th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
michael bay is the crap
February 5th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Hitchcock films are never due for updates. There are simply some films that don’t need to be remade, and it’s awfully difficult to do something as well as Hitchcock did–and what else is the point of a remake?
April 16th, 2008 at 1:20 am
To update a Hitchcock? and Michael Bay?
Of all the updating, which work version would stand the time?
In Birds, the special effect is flawed. But the movie is a serious study and observation on human condition, emotions, passion, guilty… How do Bay or Bey or Biy updates those?